Ventilating system for bathrooms

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a ventilating system for bathrooms and embodies a two speed exhaust fan located at any suitable position remote from the bathroom to cut down fan noise. An air collecting box is located at a suitable position in a wall of the bathroom and has an upper and lower compartment, the upper compartment is connected by a suitable duct to the air intake side of the fan and has connecting thereto a duct which opens out at the toilet bowl as well as an opening in the partition between the upper and lower compartments of the air collection box. A suitable loaded check valve of any preferred construction is located in this opening and is closed during operation of the fan at its low speed operation and is opened by the suction pressure of the fan at its high speed operation to permit the fan to withdraw moist air and steam from the interior of the bathroom. This check valve prevents withdrawing of air directly from the bathroom during withdrawing odorous air from the toilet bowl. Suitable electrical current central apparatus is provided to control the operation of the fan, including such elements as a manually operated switch for controlling the full speed operation of the fan and a second switch operated by weight on the toilet seat for controlling operation of the fan at its lower speed and including, if desired time control elements to maintain operation of the fan at either speed for predetermined time limits.

United States Patent 191 Stipp et al.

[451 July 29, 1975 VENTILATING SYSTEM FOR BATHROOMS [76] inventors: Donald Stipp, 1843 Loma Linda St.,

Sarasota, Fla. 33579; Hull H. Craven, 4218 Patty Way, Sarasota, Fla. 33580 22 Filed: Apr. 11, 1974 211 App]. No.: 459,907

[52 US. Cl. 4/209; 4/211; 4/218 [51] Int. Cl E03d 9/04 [58] Field of Search 4/209, 211, 210, 213, 214,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,047,067 7/1936 Harris 4/213 Primary Examiner--Henry K. Artis [57] ABSTRACT This invention relates to a ventilating system for bathrooms and embodies a two speed exhaust fan located at any suitable position remote from the bathroom to cut down fan noise. An air collecting box is located at a suitable position in a wall of the bathroom and has an upper and lower compartment, the upper compartment is connected by a suitable duct to the air intake side of the fan and has connecting thereto a duct which opens out at the toilet bowl as well as an opening in the partition between the upper and lower compartments of the air collection box. A suitable loaded check valve of any preferred construction is located in this opening and is closed during operation of the fan at its low speed operation and is opened by the suction pressure of thefan at its high speed operation to permit the fan to withdraw moist air and steam from the interior of the bathroom. This check valve prevents withdrawing of air directly from the bathroom during withdrawing odoious air from the toilet bowl. Suitable electrical current central apparatus is provided to control the operation of the fan, including such elements as a manually operated switch for controlling the full speed operation of the fan and a second switch operated by weight on the toilet seat for controlling operation of the fan at its lower speed and including, if desired time control elements to maintain operation of the fan at either speed for predetermined time limits.

8 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SHEET PATENTEDJULZQISYS Figure l F/gure 40.

C F /'gure 3 F/gure 4 VENTILATING SYSTEM FOR BATHROOMS This invention embodies a ventilating system for bathrooms and the primary object of the invention is to provide a ventilating system embodying an exhaust fan placed at any suitable position remote/from the bathroom to cut down fan noises and further provides a fan operated at its maximum speed to withdraw steam and moist air from the bathroom and at its lower speed to withdraw odors from the toilet, the speed of the fan being controlled through suitable electrical apparatus to independently through a suitable air collection box in the wall of the bathroom to withdraw either steam and moist air from the entire bathroom or to withdraw odors from the toilet, thus providing an energy saving system which will efficiently perform its functions and provide a substantial power savings during the withdrawal of odors from the toilet.

Another object of the invention is to provide an air collection box in the wall of the bathroom divided into two compartments, one of which has a suitable air extraction conduit connected to the suction of the fan and a second conduit opening thereinto which has its suction opening located so as to withdraw odors from the toilet bowl. In the partition separating these compartments is a suitably loaded check valve which will cut off communication between the compartments at the low speed operation of the exhaust fan and will be unseated by the suction pressure of the high speed operation of the fan. This second compartment, whose connection to the fan is controlled by the check valve, is open to the interior of the bathroom so that when the fan is operating at high speed steam and moist air will be drawn out of the bathroom. The check valve will also prevent, during toilet ventilating operation, the withdrawal of heated or cooled air from the bathroom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel type of toilet seat operated switch which is inconspicious and is operated by the weight of a person sitting on the seat, this providing in effect wholly automatic operation of the system independently of any controlling action by the operator other than sitting on the seat and with the fan in its remote position, noise in the bathroom will be greatly reduced and also to provide suitable time controlling elements which will maintain a predetermined time of operation of the fan to insure thorough ventilation either of the toilet or of the entire bathroom.

With these and other objects in view, as may appear from the accompanying specification, the invention consists of various features of construction and combination of parts, which will be first described in connection with the accompanying drawings, showing a Ventilating System for Bathrooms of a preferred form embodying the invention and the features forming the invention will be specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view through a bathroom showing the installation of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing the electrical circuits embodied in the ventilating system.

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the air-collecting box with its louvered front removed.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the weighted check valve which is located in the partition in the collection box.

FIG. 4a is a plan view of the weighted check valve.

FIG. 5 is a view of the toilet illustrating the switch connections to the toilet seat and a spring for holding the toilet seat in non-switch closing position until a weight is applied to the toilet seat.

FIG. 5a is a detailed view of the spring which engages the toilet seat.

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the toilet seat with the switch located therein with the hinges for the toilet seat spaced therefrom for clarity.

Referring more particularly to the drawings and with reference to FIG. 1, a fan 1 with the capacity of approximately CMF and capable of two speed operation is shown located in the attic of a house but the fan may be located in the roof or wall of the house. The fan is located far enough away from the bathroom so as to minimize the noise of its operation in the bathroom.

The fan I is connected by a conduit 2 which may be made of any suitable material, but preferably of a suitable flexible material to cut down noise transmission to the upper compartment of an air-collecting box 3 located in the wall of the bathroom but preferably at approximately a six foot level above the toilet in the bathroom. v

The air-collection box 3 has a partition 4 therein dividing it into the upper compartment 5 and the lower compartment 6. The front of the lower compartment 6 has a louvered plate (not shown) over its open face to permit air, etc. to enter this compartment from the bathroom. The flexible conduit 2 opens into the upper compartment 5 and a second conduit 8 also opens into the upper compartment 5 and extends downwardly to the toilet to collect odoriferous air from within the toilet. The conduit 8 is shown in the drawings as opening into the water box of the toilet to draw the air from within the toilet through the normal stand pipe (not shown) which connects the interior of the toilet with the interior of the flush water box 9.

As hereinafter specifically described electrical apparatus and circuits are provided so that during removal of odorous air from the toilet the fan will operate at a much lower speed with consequent reduced suction power since a materially reduced amount of odorous air is contained in the toilet than the air in the bathroom.

The partition 4 in the air collection box has an opening therein connecting the upper and lower compartments in the air-collection box. This opening has a check valve located therein which check valve may be of any suitable construction but a specific type of flap check valve 10 is shown since it has proved quite efficient and simple in construction. The check valve 10 includes a circular disk 11 which seats on a cushioned seat 12 surrounding the opening in the partition 4. The hinge of the flap valve disk 11 is counter-balanced by suitable weights 13. The flap valve is held seated by a weighted arm 14 extending from the hinge outwardly beneath the disk and suitable adjustable means 15 is provided to adjust the angle of this seating weight, thus loading the valve disk to be sensitive to opening at different pressures. A flat arm 16 having a disk formed on its outer end is connected to the circular disk ll and projects downwardly at a greater angle than the seating weight 14 to present a flat space to be acted upon by air to facilitate the complete opening of the circular disk or flap valve 11 when it starts to open under the suction action of the fan when the latter is operating at full speed.

A bumper stop projects upwardly from the valve disk and presents the valve disk from moving beyond center at its open position.

The function of the check valve just described is to cut off communication between the upper and lower compartments of the air-collection box when the fan is operating at its reduced speed to withdraw air from the toilet and to open the lower compartment of the aircollection box to direct action of the fan suction when the fan is operating at full speed for the purpose of withdrawing steam and moist air from the bathroom.

While in the drawings the conduit 8 is shown connected to the flush water box of a toilet to permit withdrawing the odorous air therefrom, it is to be understood that any suitable type of connection between the conduit and toilet may be employed since several structures are well known and the connection to the flush box shown and described is merely one example to show an operative system.

Referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings which shows the electrical circuits involved in the operation of the bathroom ventilating system of the present invention, a suitable power source connection is shown at 20, that is, the connection of the electrical system of the ventilating system to an outside source of power.

The electrical circuit operation of this bathroom ventilator takes the first circuit off of the power input and goes through the manually operated switch 21 directly to the fan 1 so that when this circuit is energized the fan operates at full speed causing the clap check valve 10 in the air collection box 3 to open and thus air is drawn from the bathroom into the fan to remove steam and damp air from the bathroom. A second circuit is taken off of the power input 20 and first goes through a transformer 23 which provides a 24 volt control circuit. The control circuit goes through a main relay 26 or contactor which includes a 24 volt coil and 115 volt contacts. The circuit continues through the 24 volt coil to a time delay relay 24 which is thermostatically operated to provide a delay in the conductivity of the choking coil which is connected through the time delay relay to the 115 volt contacts on the main relay 26. The 24 volt circuit continues through a fuse 27 to the seat operated switch 28. When the seat operated switch is operated the 24 volt control circuit energizes the heater or thermostat controlling time delay relay 24. When the time delay relay 24 operates it closes the 115 voltage current through the choke coil 25 and the choke coil is connected to the fan 1 for operating it. The choke coil 25 reduces the current flow to the fan and consequently its speed of operation, thus providing the reduced suction into the upper compartment 5 of the air collector box 3 and allowing the check valve 10 therein to remain closed. The suction of the fan 1 created at the low speed operation of the fan thus is drawn through the pipe to the air collector space at the toilet seat extracting the air and odors from the seat.

While any suitable type of switch may be employed in the toilet seat, a particular type of switch is shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings.

This switch 28 constitutes a mercury switch 30 which is embedded in the back of the toilet seat and connected by suitable wiring to the hinges 31 of the toilet seat and through these hinges to the proper element in the electrical circuit as described in connection of FIG. 2 of the drawings. The hinges or hinge pins 31 are made of one continuous rod of copper so that they provide in connection with the embedded mercury switch a seat operated switch structure which is completely hidden from anyone using the toilet.

As shown in FIG. 5 a suitable spring element 36 is attached to the under surface of the toilet seat and engages the bowl of the toilet normally holding the seat in a slightly elevated position so as to break the electric circuit through the mercury switch.

The manually operated switch 21 may be an ordinary toggle switch or it may be any suitable type of time control switch so that it will provide a predetermined length of time of operation of the fan, sufficient to clear the air in the bathroom and a time element may be provided in the mechanism controlling operation of fan at low speed so as to provide its operation for a sufficient length of time to thoroughly ventilate the toilet. All of the current operated elements embodied in the electrical circuits of the ventilating system are well known and may be purchased upon the open market, so that these elements have not been shown in detail in the drawings specifically described in the specification.

It will be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific construction or arrangement of parts shown, but that they maybe modified within the invention defined by the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a ventilating system for bathrooms, a fan, means connecting the suction of the fan to the bathroom for withdrawing steam and moist air from the entire bathroom, and means for connecting the suction of the fan to a toilet in the bathroom for withdrawing odorous air from the toilet bowl, said means comprising an air collection box having a plurality of compartments, one compartment of said air collection box opening out into the bathroom to permit entrance of steam and moist air into the compartment from which it is drawn when the fan is operating at full speed, and an electrical system connected to the fan and embodying means for reducing the speed of operation of the fan during the withdrawal of odorous air from said toilet bowl and for operating the fan at full speed when withdrawing moist air and steam directly from the bathroom.

2. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 1, wherein said air-collection box has a compartment directly connected to a toilet bowl structure and to the suction of said fan whereby when the fan is operated at its low speed odorous air will be drawn from the toilet bowl into the fan.

3. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 1, wherein said air collection box has a partition therein dividing it into an upper and lower compartment, said lower compartment having open communication with the interior of a bathroom, a conduit connecting the upper compartment to the suction of the fan, a check valve located in said partition to cut off communication between the upper and lower compartment of the air collection box and operable by the suction pressure of full speed operation of the fan to open and permit direct communication of the suction fan through the lower compartment of the air collection box to the interior of the bathroom.

4. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 3, including a second conduit connecting the upper compartment in said air collection box with a toilet to withdraw odorous air from the toilet, an electric switch carried by the seat of the toilet and normally held open and closed by weight upon the toilet seat, and means operated by the closing of the circuit under weight on the toilet seat to permit a reduced flow of electric current to the fan to operate the fan at a reduced speed.

5. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 4, wherein said check valve is so constructed and arranged as to remain closed under the reduced suction of the fan caused by its reduced speed to prevent communication of the suction of the fan with the entire interior of the bathroom.

6. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 4, wherein the switch structure embodies a mercury switch embedded in the rear of the toilet seat, the toilet seat includes hinge pins made of electrical conducting material, said mercury switch electrically connected to said hinge pins and wiring connecting said hinge pins to the means in the circuit to reduce the electrical current flow to the fan.

7. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 6, wherein said electrical circuit means for controlling the flow of the reduced electric current to the fan embodies a control circuit including said seat operated mercury switch, a transformer for reducing the voltage of the electrical current and a transformer for reducing the voltage of the current flowing to the toilet seat carried mercury switch to preclude appreciable electrical shock to a person seated on the seat.

8. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 7, including an electrical relay connected in the control circuit with the seat carried mercury switch, a choke coil, said choke coil connected to the relay and said relay having connection with the main power source, whereby when the relay is energized by closing of a circuit through the seat carried mercury switch full power electric current will be transmitted through the relay to the choke coil, said choke coil connected to said fan and choking or reducing the full current flow to the fan to cause the fan to be operated at reduced speed. 

1. In a ventilating system for bathrooms, a fan, means connecting the suction of the fan to the bathroom for withdrawing steam and moist air from the entire bathroom, and means for connecting the suction of the fan to a toilet in the bathroom for withdrawing odorous air from the toilet bowl, said means comprising an air collection box having a plurality of compartments, one compartment of said air collection box opening out into the bathroom to permit entrance of steam and moist air into the compartment from which it is drawn when the fan is operating at full speed, and an electrical system connected to the fan and embodying means for reducing the speed of operation of the fan during the withdrawal of odorous air from said toilet bowl and for operating the fan at full speed when withdrawing moist air and steam directly from the bathroom.
 2. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 1, wherein said air-collection box has a compartment directly connected to a toilet bowl structure and to the suction of said fan whereby when the fan is operated at its low speed odorous air will be drawn from the toilet bowl into the fan.
 3. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 1, wherein said air collection box has a partition therein dividing it into an upper and lower compartment, said lower compartment having open communication with the interior of a bathroom, a conduit connecting the upper compartment to the suction of the fan, a check valve located in said partition to cut off communication between the upper and lower compartment of the air collection box and operable by the suction pressure of full speed operation of the fan to open and permit direct communication of the suction fan through the lower compartment of the air collection box to the interior of the bathroom.
 4. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 3, including a second conduit connecting the upper compartment in said air collection box with a toilet to withdraw odorous air from the toilet, an electric switch carried by the seat of the toilet and normally held open and closed by weight upon the toilet seat, and means operated by the closing of the circuit under weight on the toilet seat to permit a reduced flow of electric current to the faN to operate the fan at a reduced speed.
 5. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 4, wherein said check valve is so constructed and arranged as to remain closed under the reduced suction of the fan caused by its reduced speed to prevent communication of the suction of the fan with the entire interior of the bathroom.
 6. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 4, wherein the switch structure embodies a mercury switch embedded in the rear of the toilet seat, the toilet seat includes hinge pins made of electrical conducting material, said mercury switch electrically connected to said hinge pins and wiring connecting said hinge pins to the means in the circuit to reduce the electrical current flow to the fan.
 7. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 6, wherein said electrical circuit means for controlling the flow of the reduced electric current to the fan embodies a control circuit including said seat operated mercury switch, a transformer for reducing the voltage of the electrical current and a transformer for reducing the voltage of the current flowing to the toilet seat carried mercury switch to preclude appreciable electrical shock to a person seated on the seat.
 8. In a ventilating system for bathrooms as claimed in claim 7, including an electrical relay connected in the control circuit with the seat carried mercury switch, a choke coil, said choke coil connected to the relay and said relay having connection with the main power source, whereby when the relay is energized by closing of a circuit through the seat carried mercury switch full power electric current will be transmitted through the relay to the choke coil, said choke coil connected to said fan and choking or reducing the full current flow to the fan to cause the fan to be operated at reduced speed. 